


Heavenly Life

by Ryqoshay



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Angelic AU, F/F, Fanciful Depictions of Violence, fictober19
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2020-12-16 01:31:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21028064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryqoshay/pseuds/Ryqoshay
Summary: A long time ago, in a realm not as far away as many might believe... the fates of two angels were intertwined.I am but a humble archivist, tasked with traveling this realm to reassemble a legacy lost to the eternities. As each new piece is discovered, I shall transcribe and collect them here. Please bear in mind that this story will likely remain piecemeal at best and new information will not come in chronological order. I will do my best to keep things properly sorted, but the some rearrangement may become necessary, and the occasional contradiction may arise.Join me as I explore the heavenly life of two young angels.





	1. Cursed Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Note: It was brought to my attention here on AO3 that I may have been overly cautious with my warnings and rating. Thus, after consulting a few other readers, I decided to downgrade things a bit. I don’t believe the violence depicted in this work will exceed the likes of what was shown in the Harry Potter movies, which retained PG and PG-13 ratings. Also, I do not intend the violence to ever truly be the focus of the story, merely a framing device and a consequence of the setting. The characters and their interactions should always take center stage as far as I’m concerned. As such, I shall try modifying the warning to “Fanciful Depictions of Violence” in the with the rest of the tags, and also change the rating to T, and see if that works.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blue-haired girl and the redhead meet for the first time in amidst the chaos of battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Primary Pairing: YohaRiko  
Words: ~5.8k  
Rating: T  
Warning: Fanciful Depictions of Violence  
Fanfic Fandom: Love Live! Sunshine!!  
AU: Angelic  
Time Frame: ???  
Story Arc: Stand Alone  
Event: Fictober19  
Prompts: 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 17, 22, 25, 30
> 
> So I guess I’m writing a third fic now…
> 
> This chapter serves a dual purpose. First and foremost, it is a proof of concept for an idea that has been brewing in the back of my mind since I first starting writing Happy Life. And second, it is my entry for the [Fictober19](https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187637998976/fictober-2019) event.
> 
> Worth mentioning that readers need not have read Happy Life or watched Love Live to understand what is going on in this fic. However, those who have watched or read may find the occasional Easter egg.

“So, they’ve made it this far…” The blue-haired girl observed from her perch above the chaos. 

She hadn’t been summoned to battle, though she hadn’t expected to be, but there had been no ignoring the pillars of smoke rising or the sounds of battle coming from the direction of the gates. Upon arrival to her current position, it was immediately apparent that this was one of the more aggressive invasions in quite a while. Below, countless combatants fought to the death with all manner of sword and sorcery. Blades flashed. Magicks shimmered. Yet another chapter in the story of their eternal war was being written as she watched.

“Are we to join them?” A voice asked.

“Of course.” The girl replied to black kitten that had materialized on her shoulder. “This is our home as well, so I’ll be damned if I don’t help defend it.”

“You will likely be damned anyway.”

“You know what I mean!” She protested before gently swatting her familiar atop his head. “Anyway,” Her hand slid down to scratch under his chin “if nothing else, it will be fun. Trust me.”

“Always. I’m with you, you know that.” He replied before dematerializing. “See you on the battlefield, Master.” His voice emanated from the æther.

With a shrug of her shoulders, wings as dark as the Void sprouted from them and with a single flap, she was borne aloft. Then, with only a thought, her body was rendered invisible to all but all but the most powerful of entities. Finally, she descended into the fray. 

Her first target was selected with ease, a single demon that had pushed a bit too far and was now separated from the rest of his line. Despite being alone, he stood pridefully over the broken bodies of several angels she did not readily recognize. Not that she cared much for their identities, and the angles would be reborn soon enough anyway, but the assault still required a response.

“Welcome to Hell Zone!” The blue-haired girl sneered as she became visible to the demon.

“Hell wha?” He baulked in confusion before a black dagger embedded itself in his chest. He grunted and reached to remove it, but before he could touch the hilt, the dagger dissolved, filling the wound with dark energies.

“Here, have another on me.” The girl said as a second dagger appeared near her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it hurling toward her foe.

This time, the demon made no attempt to remove the summoned blade and instead raised one of his own, a giant axe almost as big as the girl herself. With a roar of anger, the demon charged. For her part, the blue-haired girl merely put a finger to her eye, pulled down its lid and stuck out her tongue. A mighty swing cleaved her from shoulder to hip, but her taunting smirk never faltered, even as her body dissolved.

“Wrong one.” The girl cooed into the demon’s ear from behind.

Before he could react, the toe of an ebon scythe protruded from his belly. “H-how…?” was all he managed to get out before the girl heaved upward to repay the favor bestowed on the duplicate she had left when teleporting.

“One down.” The girl cheered, twirling her scythe in triumph a few times before it disappeared.

“And hundreds, if not thousands more to go.” Her familiar stated from wherever he was. “We should find more, it has been far too long since I last tasted demon.”

“There’s one right here.” The girl gestured to the slain demon at her feet.

“Weakling.” Her familiar grumbled. “One defeated by you alone is not worthy of my fangs.”

“Hey!” She protested. “He faced off against all of these guys before we got here, surly they did some damage before going down.”

“A fair point.” The familiar conceded. “But I sense a more powerful foe in the next passage over. Shall we?”

A groan caught the blue-haired girl’s attention before she could reply. “Ah, still alive, are we?” She asked of one of the angels on the ground.

The angel’s eyes focused on the girl standing over her. “Cursed Blood?” She growled in recognition.

The girl rolled her eyes.

“Begone! Remove thy foul aura from my presence!”

“Tch…” The girl shook her head. “Yeah, yeah. I know you didn’t ask for it, but you’re welcome for the save anyway.” With that, she turned and headed toward the gates and the heart of the battle. “Ingrate.” She tossed over her shoulder.

The blue-haired girl took to the air and disappeared from view. Upon clearing the building between the passages, she immediately realized her familiar was wrong. There wasn’t a powerful foe over here, rather there were several. However, that did not stop her familiar from materializing, in his monstrous battle form, beside one of the demons and clamping his jaws down on its legs, nearly hewing it off in one bite.

Not one to be left out of the fun, the blue-haired girl made a sweeping motion with her arm, summoning half a dozen daggers along its arc. The act of casting dispersed her invisibility, but the demons below barely noticed as their attention was focused on the giant cat attacking them. Of course, when the daggers rained down upon them, along with a bout of laughter, she was harder to ignore.

With each foe felled, the blue-haired girl became more excited. With each injury incurred, she became angrier. The manic mix of emotions drove her deeper into the invading forces. Her daggers flew in all directions, piercing all in their path. Her summoned scythe separated souls and limbs alike. And her decoys distracted the demons to allow her every dirty and demoralizing trick she could think of to destroy them.

At her side, her familiar fought as well. His claws shredded lesser foes while his fangs ripped sizable chunks out of the bigger ones. She was vaguely aware that he had likely swallowed at least thrice his own weight in demon, even with his larger form, but she cared little, so long as he was able to keep up with her.

This was her life. This was what she lived for. Life in this place was only interesting when the enemy invaded, which had been less frequent as of late. No doubt they had been building up their forces for this attack, so there was a chance that once repelled, they might stay away for a while. All the more reason to make the best of this assault and get in as many kills as possible.

Of course, there were plenty of angels around also engaged in battle. And while some were grateful for her assistance, if put off by her tactics, most treated her as had the one she had saved from the first demon. But their jeers and sneers went ignored as the blue-haired girl focused solely on the fight.

All was going well, or at least well enough. She and her familiar had just repelled an attempted ambush and were ready to move on when…

“Wait!” The blue-haired girl was halted by a hand grabbing her wrist.

She wheeled around. “What are you…” Her snarl was cut short as her gaze fell upon a redheaded girl and she immediately stopped trying to break free from the surprisingly strong hold.

Holy hell…

She was beautiful. A true angel.

Auburn tresses flowed down past her shoulders. A small, pink flower adorned a clip that held aside her bangs, but only on the right side for some reason. A few other highlights of pink stood out against the otherwise expected shades of blue and purple of the standard battle armor. Golden caps imbued her wings with a sapphire hue of angelic magic.

Golden…

By the gods… The girl’s golden gaze made the blue-haired girl’s heart want to sprout its own wings and take flight.

“Are you alright?” Her voice… “You look like you need healing.”

“I’m…” The blue-haired girl’s voice cracked, forcing her to clear her throat before trying again. “I’m fine.”

“You have a spear sticking through you.” The redhead stated firmly. “You are not fine.” She reached for the weapon in question but recoiled as though touching a hot stove.

“Careful with that.” The blue-haired girl warned.

“How is it not burning you?”

“Perks of the Curse, I suppose.” She shrugged.

The redhead’s eyes never left the spear, and after a moment of silence, her expression became one of determination. She took a deep breath and reached for it again.

“Hey, what are you…?” The blue-haired girl protested, turning in an attempt to keep the spear out of reach.

However, the redhead was too quick and was able to grab hold. “I’m sorry, but this might hurt a bit.” She explained before hauling back. Hard.

The blue-haired girl’s face twisted in pain as the spear was pulled free, but no more than half a second later, a warm, soothing sensation began spreading from the wound. She looked down to see the redhead’s hands glowing with a gentle pink aura as they fed healing magicks into her.

“There, that should do for now.” The redhead patted the area she had just healed.

“Thank you…” the blue-haired girl said after a moment. “But… why?”

The redhead blinked. “What do you mean, why?”

“Why did you heal me?”

“I’m a healer?”

“Yes, I know, but…”

“I mean, you’re an angel, right?”

“Technically…”

“But you’re at least on our side, right?”

“You mean you didn’t know before you…?”

“I assumed as much after watching you kill those demons, including the one who ran you through with that spear.” The other girl tilted her head with an expression of both confusion and concern. “Would you have preferred I not have healed you?”

“That’s not what I meant, I… uhm…” The blue-haired girl’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I’m just not used to it.”

“Not used to being healed?”

“Not around here, no.”

The redhead furrowed her brow as her concern grew. “That doesn’t seem right.”

“Perhaps it isn’t” The blue-haired girl admitted. “But such is the case for one of a cursed bloodline like me.”

“Cursed blood…” The redhead repeated. “Is that why your wings are…”

“Black? Yeah. They kinda stand out, don’t they.”

“They’re unique.” The hint of a smile tugged at the other girl’s lips. “And they suit you. I think they’re quite lovely.”

Lovely…? The blue-haired girl felt heat rise to her cheeks.

“A-a-anyway, I… should get back to the battle.” The blue-haired girl tried to get her composure back together. “Those demons aren’t going to defeat themselves.” She forced a chuckle. “Oh, but before I go, might I ask of you a favor?”

“Certainly.”

“Would you be willing to heal my familiar as well?”

“Absolutely.”

As if on cue, the air between them shimmered for a second before a black cat popped into existence. The redhead’s smile grew as she held out her hands, upon which the cat alighted.

“You have my thanks, m’lady.” The familiar offered his gratitude.

“And with that…” The blue-haired girl turned.

“Wait, I’m sorry.” The redhead reached out to touch her shoulder.

“Hm?” She turned back.

“I actually have a favor to ask of you as well, if you don’t mind.”

Mind? Did she mind? Certainly, part of her wanted to hasten her return to the fray, knowing full well it would take a few kills to ramp herself back up into her frenzy. But a different part of her wanted to do just about anything the redhead might ask.

“… Perhaps…” was the answer she heard come out of her mouth.

“I need help locating our captain.”

“Our captain?”

“Of the defense force?”

“Not my captain.”

“Oh…”

“No, sorry.” The blue-haired girl shook her head. “I know who you mean, I just… never mind.” She paused for a moment to think. “You know, I haven’t seen her out here yet, so she’s probably still back in the cathedral. Probably planning her counter strike.”

“Where is the cathedral?”

The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“I was just transferred.”

“You picked a hell of a time to arrive.” She couldn’t help scoffing.

“So it would seem.”

“Anyway, I’d say follow me as I know the area, but…” She glanced at her familiar. “How does the path look?”

The cat turned in the direction of cathedral and concentrated for a moment. “Not good.” He stated.

“Right, so teleporting it is.”

“Teleporting?” The redhead inquired.

“Yup. It’s going to take me a few jumps, but just hold on and trust me.”

“Alrii~aaah!?” The redhead panicked as she was suddenly several meters in the air, holding on to… nothing?

“Sorry, sorry.” The blue-haired girl apologized. “Force of habit with the invisibility, but I got you, you won’t fa… never mind.”

Of course she wouldn’t fall. She’s an angel. She’s got her own wings. The blue-haired girl mentally chastised herself.

Despite this observation, the redhead still clung tightly to her as though she was actually afraid of falling. And while the behavior struck the blue-haired girl as odd, she had to admit she didn’t particularly mind it. In fact, the redhead’s anxious expression was rather… cute.

A couple jumps later, the two landed in the courtyard of the cathedral.

“Ah, you’re here!” A blonde girl in front of a couple dozen angelic troops exclaimed happily as she stared directly at the blue-haired girl.

Gods damn it… She should have remembered that there was no hiding from one as powerful as her.

“<Now, now.>” The blonde said in an ancient tongue as she sauntered past the redhead and over to her. “<You should know better than to blaspheme in front of me.>” She wrapped her arms tightly around the blue-haired girl and with a single spoken syllable, forced her to dismiss her invisibility.

“<As if you actually care. Hey, let go!>” The blue-haired girl struggled vainly against the strong embrace. “Oh for the love of…”

“Hmmm?”

The blue-haired girl growled. “Here, hug him.” She reached over and snatched her familiar out of the æther. “You two always get along so well anyway.”

“<Pretty kitty!>” The blonde cried, releasing the blue-haired girl in favor of her cat. 

“Hmph… I should just transfer his contract over to you one of these days.” The blue-haired girl grumbled as she watched her familiar snuggle against the blonde and start purring.

“Captain?” One of the other angels attempted to get his leader’s attention.

“Yes?” The blonde responded as she began to scratch the cat behind his ears.

“Our battle plan?”

“Oh yes, of course. Well, with our new arrivals, the plans have changed.” She gestured to the two girls beside her, flatly ignoring the looks of disapproval from many of her troops. “Give me a moment to debrief them.”

“Hey, I just came to deliver her.” The blue-haired girl said jutting her chin toward the redhead. “And now I’ll get out of your hair and back to doing what I do best.”

“The demons’ general is Jhank” The blonde stated, her entire demeanor becoming more somber as she dropped the name like a hammer.

The blue-haired girl cursed in the ancient tongue, ignoring the twitch of the blonde’s eye. “You know I’m not powerful enough to take him down, right?” She said after a moment. “I mean I suppose I can help, but on my own, his regeneration can overcome anything I can dish out. Hell, I don’t think your little squad here could take him on.” She glanced at the gathered troops, making a rude gesture in response to several leers. “You on the other hand.” She pointed to the blonde. “If you did your thing, we could have a chance. But you’d need the right window of opportunity. And for that you’d need a good…” It clicked in her mind. She closed her eyes, tilted back her head and released a sigh. “Distraction.”

“I knew I could count on you.” The blonde nodded.

The blue-haired girl gritted her teeth. “I haven’t agreed yet.”

“I know you will do what is right, eventually.”

“You know you’re going to owe me big for this, right?”

“Anything. Whatever your little heart desires.” There was no teasing in the blonde’s tone, she was dead serious. And that managed to bother the blue-haired girl more.

“I’d ask for that in writing, but I doubt we have time.”

“You know I never break my word.”

“Yes, but… oh never mind. Let’s just… get this over with.” The blue-haired girl flapped her wings once to take her up half a meter. “C’mon.” She said to her familiar. “I don’t think I’ll need you to show me the way, even I can sense that power.” She began to drift listlessly in the direction of the city gate.

“Uhm…” The redhead spoke up.

“Yes, I’ll be needing you to help protect my troops.” The blonde stated, finally acknowledging the other girl’s presence.

“Alright…” The redhead’s gaze drifted toward the departing blue-haired girl.

“She’s not one of my troops.”

“But…”

“She’ll be fine.”

“You guys coming or are you just going to stay here and chat?” The blue-haired girl tossed over her shoulder.

She didn’t wait for a response before she cast her invisibility and took flight. She avoided teleporting so as not to leave the others too far behind and ensuring the distraction she was expected to make would not be unnecessarily extended. Still, she made pretty good time in traveling to the gate, as she wasn’t stopping to fight every single demon along the way.

There he was, the lumbering behemoth of a demonic general. Jhank. The blue-haired girl wasn’t quite sure, but he seemed bigger than the last time she had seen him. His aura had changed as well. He was stronger now than she remembered.

For the briefest of moments, the blue-haired girl wondered if the blonde would be able to succeed in taking him down, even with perfect timing and aim. But she immediately dismissed the thought. She would have to have faith in the blonde, because if she failed… she didn’t want to think about that.

She approached the general from behind as he engaged a handful of angelic guards. She knew the latter didn’t stand a chance but would probably last long enough for her to make a quick analysis of the area to finalize her part of the plan. Landing near the entrance of a sizable stone structure and leaning against a stone pillar, she summoned a dagger.

Here goes nothing… She sent the summoned blade forth to strike the general squarely between the shoulders.

Jhank barely seemed to notice and finished off the last two angels with a single swing. He then reached behind himself to where the dagger had hit and scratched as though itching a insect bite. Finally, he turned toward his attacker.

“You.” The general pointed at the girl. “You’re a Tsushima.”

“Yes. I’m aware.” She crossed her arms defiantly as he approached. “Your point?”

The general leaned down until his face was barely a centimeter from hers. The two stared, unblinking at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The intense aura between them spread out, catching the attention of nearby combatants until an eye of uneasy calm had formed amidst the storm of battle.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. “Are you sure you’re fighting on the right side?”

“You asked me that last time and my answer hasn’t changed.” The girl replied defiantly.

“I see.” He stood back up to full height. “It’s been a while since I fought a Tsushima.”

“I know.”

Jhank’s laugh was like a landslide bearing down on a small village. “Ah yes, remind me, little one, how that fight went.”

“It didn’t end well.”

“For you.”

“Or anyone.”

“On your side.”

“Sure…” The blue-haired girl decided not to point out the losses on his side because she was well aware the general cared little for those below him, so long as he achieved victory.

“So, are you expecting a different outcome this time?”

“Of course.”

“Very well.” With speed that belied his size, he brought his sword down upon the girl, carving through her and the pillar as though they were little more than sea foam.

From her new position, the blue-haired girl watched her decoy disappear under the collapsing stone and prepared another shot. However, no sooner had the blade manifested than a red glow appeared around the general’s off hand. A hand that was pointing directly at her.

Two spells narrowly missed colliding in the middle as they both sped toward their targets.

“Tch…” The blue-haired girl barely dodged the fiery ball of energy, but when it exploded against the wall behind her, she was still peppered with shrapnel. The burning scent of brimstone filled her nose. Hellfire.

“You think I don’t remember your tricks?”

Not good. Not good. Very much not good! The girl thought as she sought a new vantage point. Not only did Jhank remember her abilities, he had gained new ones of his own. She cursed as she dodged another blast that set ablaze a statue that by all rights should not have been flammable. By the gods, how long was the blonde going to take?

A fierce roar caught her attention and she looked in time to see her familiar materialize and clamp his jaws down on the general’s leg.

“Blasted cat!” The general growled, swinging his sword.

Fortunately for the familiar, in battle form, his fur was as strong as any shield and the blade bounced off his side. Unfortunately, the sheer force of the blow still managed to deal damage.

Seeing an opening, the blue-haired girl teleported directly behind the general and summoned her scythe. However, the general, true to his point about knowing her tricks, swung his sword, seemingly blindly, behind him. Thus, instead of getting in a strike, she was forced to block.

The girl chastised herself for being predictable. Then how about…

She teleported into a position hovering just in front of Jhank who raised a curious eyebrow. She made quick eye contact with her familiar, who seemed to understand, before raising her scythe. The general wielded his blade around from the other direction, making it obvious he had no intent to block. But halfway through his swing, the familiar planted his feet and pulled, throwing the general off balance just enough for the blue-haired girl to dodge. She immediately used the opportunity to drive her blade into his chest.

“Not bad.” Jhank admitted. “I actually feel that.”

“Good, now feel this.” She heaved up to… do nothing. “Geh?”

The general chuckled as the girl quickly dismissed her blade and prepared to flee.

“<Lock on!>” A distant shout could be heard over the din of battle.

The blue-haired girl groaned as the tone the blonde chose was far too cheerful for what the situation warranted. Not that she was typically any better, but…

From on high, pure white energy radiated down like a sunbeam. A deadly laser that pounded down on the general, melting his armor almost immediately. For the first time since the blue-haired girl had arrived, his expression became one of pain. He tried to move out of the way of the attack, but found himself hindered by a sizable cat still attached to his leg.

Hindered, but not completely immobile, and he managed about half a meter with effort. However, black tendrils suddenly sprang up from the ground and wrapped themselves around his limbs.

“What the hell?” He bellowed.

“You’re not the only one who learned new spells.” The blue-haired girl said from nearby.

She clenched her fist and made a gesture as though pulling something down. Obeying the command, the tendrils began dragging the general back under the beam. For his part, the familiar redoubled his own efforts in the brutal tug-of-war.

This is it. The blue-haired girl allowed herself a smile as the general was set ablaze by the holy light. She was, however, a bit disappointed that he was not screaming in agony, despite having collapsed to his hands and knees. In fact, she was rather surprised as to how calm he had suddenly become.

“Vignari.” Jhank intoned.

“What?”

“Vignari.”

“Wait, no!”

“Yth shio wielg vhira!”

“Oh gods…”

“Tsushi

* * *

“Still here, are you?”

The redhead looked up to see the blonde enter the room and offered her a smile in greeting.

“Yeah…”

“You can’t leave her alone, can you?”

“I am a healer, you know.”

“I also know that I ordered you to protect my troops, not her.”

The redhead felt her smile fade. “But, I…”

“May I ask why?” The blonde cut her off. “Why did you disobey my order? Why did you risk yourself to protect her?”

“I… don’t know.” The redhead admitted as she turned her gaze to the blue-haired girl on the bed. “There’s just… There is just something about her…”

“Something?”

“Something that makes me want to protect her.”

The blonde snorted and the redhead looked up to see her making a poor effort to hold back a smile before eventually laughing.

“<It’s fine. It’s fine.>” The blonde waved off her previous seriousness as she approached the bed. “I had others who were able to make barriers to protect us. Not as strong as yours, but…”

“…”

“And I’m not mad.” The blonde continued. “In fact, I’m quite grateful. You know, she could use more friends like you. Honestly, she could use more friends in general, but I think someone like you in her life would do her a world of good. Might keep her out of trouble.” Her smile turned into a smirk as she gave the redhead a visual inspection that seemed to linger far too long in certain places, making the redhead shift uncomfortably. “Or maybe get her into some trouble.”

“Get her into…?”

“Yes, I know what you’re thinking. You’re reputation precedes you, Rikocchi; you’re a rule follower. But you don’t always have to break rules to get into trouble.”

“I’m… not sure I get it.”

“And who knows, perhaps I can use you to finally convince her to join me.”

“Join you?”

“I said earlier she isn’t one of my troops, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to have her under my command.” The captain explained. “As I’m sure you’ve seen, her skills would be invaluable to the defense of this area. And I’d prefer to have more control over them.”

“In other words, you want to put a leash on her?”

“Mmm… I think I’ll leave that up to you.”

Riko felt her cheeks heat up. “C-Captain Ohara!”

“Just Mari is fine. I’ve never been one to care much about all the formalities of rank and whatever.”

“But your other troops…”

“Yeah, I know, it bugs me, but I’ve pretty much given up on them. But you’re new, so maybe…” Mari considered before shrugging. “Anyway, I need to go make a report to Her.” The captain’s tone shifted strangely when she mentioned Her. “But there is one more thing.”

“Oh?”

“When she wakes up, tell that you have an idea about my debt.”

“I do?”

“She’ll know what you mean.” She winked, spun and was out the door before Riko could inquire further.

“Is she gone?”

Riko jolted at the unexpected question coming from the blue-haired girl. “Y-You’re awake?”

“I am.”

“How much did you hear?”

“Pretty much everything.” The blue-haired girl opened her eyes and smiled when her gaze fell on the small cat sleeping on her chest. “Hey, boy.” She cooed gently, running a hand from head to tail a few times, causing him to start purring. “So it was you I heard calling my name at the end there.” She stated, turning back to the redhead.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

“Though I am curious if you actually needed it.” The cat interjected.

“Phobetor!” The blue-haired girl swatted him gently. “Even if I didn’t, it was still a kind gesture.”

“You didn’t need my shield?” Riko inquired, confused.

“My master is practically indestructible.” Phobetor stated.

“Practically?”

“Practically.” The blue-haired girl confirmed. “Jhank’s self-destruction spell was extremely powerful and your shield is the main reason I’m still here…” A thought occurred to her. “Say, why aren’t you over there?” She pointed to the other bed in the room. “Weren’t you right next to me when your shield broke?”

“I’m sorry.” Riko turned her gaze down and to the side. “I only had time to throw up an emergency barrier. I couldn’t cast all of the other personal protections on you that I already had on me.”

“Anyway, without your protection, that blast probably would have killed me.”

“Killed? But I thought you just said…”

“I’d’ve come back.” The blue-haired girl shrugged.

“You would be reborn?”

“No, I go through a bit of a different process. It’s…” She paused and put her fingers to her mouth in thought. “Listen, I can’t explain it, just trust me, it’s different. Less time consuming, but more painful.”

“Painful?”

“Extremely. And you saved me from that…” She winced as she tried to sit up and instead clutched at her side. “Or, maybe just most of it.” She barely noticed her familiar rolling off her chest before settling back down on her lap.

“I’m sorry!” Riko rushed forward to put her hand where the other girl was holding and cast a healing spell.

The blue-haired girl chuckled. “I’m fine.”

“You also think you’re fine when you’re impaled on a spear.”

“You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?”

“No, I’m not.” Riko shook her head. “For all I knew, that could have killed you.”

“And I just told you that I’d’ve come back.”

“And you just told me that doing so would be extremely painful.”

The blue-haired girl opened her mouth to counter but was cutoff as the redhead continued.

“As a healer and protector, it is my duty to ward against such things.” Riko crossed her arms decisively. “You seem like the type who is bad at taking care of yourself, so I intend to keep an eye on you. And as Mari said, you could use someone in your corner.”

“I’ve got Phobetor. I’m fine.”

“As fine as…”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” The blue-haired girl held up her hands. “I’m sorry, I just… I guess I’m not used to anyone caring so much, or at all really; they’re always so turned off by the whole cursed blood thing.” She sighed. “Mari cares, but sometimes I think it’s only because she sees me as another tool to used, another weapon to be wielded.”

“I get the feeling she cares more than she lets on.”

“Maybe…” The blue-haired girl shrugged. “But you know it’s not always like this.”

“Like what?”

“This.” She gestured widely to everything and nothing in particular. “This whole waking up in a bed thing after falling in battle. Usually I wake up where I fell. Or somewhere else; don’t ask. But never in a comfortable, clean bed with a friendly face smiling at me. I never knew it could be this way, but I think I could get used to it.”

“Or maybe you could get used to not pushing so hard and fighting to the point where you fall in battle?”

“Hrm…” The girl in the bed considered. “I don’t think that’s going to happen… although… Perhaps with your shields and wards and whatnot.”

“They can only do so much, as you’ve seen.”

“You came out of that blast unscathed, did you not?”

“I had some healing I needed to do on myself afterward.”

“But not as much as on me.”

“No, not as much as… why do you seem happy about that?”

“Because I survived.” The blue-haired girl proclaimed with a grin. “Another notch on the belt. Another achievement I can claim that ordinary angels would be incapable of.”

Riko observed the other girl warily for a moment before asking. “Is this war just a game to you?”

“Well…” The blue-haired girl rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, as though realizing her faux pas.

“Yes.” Phobetor stated in her stead, earning another swat.

“I mean, what else is there in life?”

“There are plenty of…” Riko started.

“What else is there in my life?” The blue-haired girl quickly corrected. “I mean here I am caught between two side at war, neither of whom really want me for me, but both are willing to use my power… so…”

The room fell into silence, an awkward silence that felt like it was lasting far too long.

“Perhaps,” Riko was the first to speak “maybe I can help change that?”

“You’d be willing to do that for me?” The blue-haired girl seemed like she wanted to believe, but her life experience warned her otherwise.

“I would.” The redhead stated definitively. “And not just out any sort of sense of duty either, in case you’re worried about that.”

The blue-haired girl stared at the redhead, gears spinning in her mind. Finally, a smile pulled at her lips. “I’d like that.”

“Good.” Riko nodded. “So, Tsushima, that’s your family name, right?”

“It is.”

“What is your given name?”

“You may call me Yohane.” A prideful declaration.

“Johannes?”

“Her name is Yoshiko.” Phobetor said.

“Curse you!” Yoshiko scolded her familiar.

“I’m no more cursed than you.” The cat seemed to shrug. “Because of you, I might add.”

“Because of…?” Riko tilted her head.

“As her familiar, my soul is bound to hers, and through said bond, the curse of her bloodline afflicts me as well.” He explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “However, be it labelled a curse, it has allowed me access to powers I would have lacked had I been summoned by a normal angel. To that end, I am grateful to serve Yoshiko as my master.”

“It’s Yohane!” Yoshiko insisted. “And of course you should be grateful to be my most elite familiar.”

“You’re only familiar.”

Yoshiko growled in frustration as Riko chuckled at the interaction as she got the feeling this was a fairly common thing between the two.

“So, Yochanan was it?” Riko asked after a moment.

“Yohane.”

“How about Yocchan?”

The blue-haired girl’s expression changed, and pink began to dust her cheeks. “A-alright…” She stuttered out. “B-b-but only Riri can call me by such a cute name.”

“Riri?”

“It’s only fair that I get to call you by a cute nickname as well.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly a name she would have chosen for herself, Riko couldn’t deny that the name was kind of cute. Kind of… maybe…

“You know, now that I’m awake,” Yoshiko continued, “I could really eat something.” As if on cue, her stomach grumbled.

Riko laughed as she stood up. “Alright, I’ll go see what I can find.”

“Oh, and whatever you find, bring some for Phobetor as well.”

“Alright.”

As the redhead made her exit, the blue-haired girl settled back down on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she thought this moment might mark the start of a new life. A more… heavenly life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might only be the third time I’ve participated in a fic writing event. The first resulted in the HtHaN scene Dear Santa and for the second I wrote a set of Unsent love letters for both HtHaN and HL. Technically, I wrote HtHaN’s First Christmas for an event, but it wasn’t a writing event per se.
> 
> In any case, I had already started this scene when the prompt list for Fictober19 popped up on my dash and I immediately saw one that would work. Then another. And another… Then, 11 prompts and 5.8k words later, I finally had the first scene of my new fic.
> 
> As mentioned earlier, this scene is essentially a proof of concept. I have no idea how much might come of this or how my readers might react to it. Perhaps I’ll gain new ones, or possibly lose old ones, who knows. This work is a bit different than the other two insofar as it is staring, right off the bat, with an M rating. Currently that M is for fantasy grade violence, but it might not stay that way, and I would understand if it turned some people off.
> 
> That all said, if this work gains more chapters, I will be drawing influence from many sources and likely referencing directly to them occasionally as well. D&D and my unposted fanfic for that franchise will be tapped; I already did so for Yoshiko’s power set. The Diablo franchise comes to mind as a possible source, as do a handful of webcomics I have on my bookmark list. And if any one particular source becomes prominent enough I’ll probably add it to the fandom tags, elsewise I’ll probably just mention it in the Author’s Notes.
> 
> So finally, thank you for reading and welcome to my new Heavenly Life.


	2. Transfer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mari has some news for Yoshiko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Primary Pairing: YohaRiko  
Words: ~1.8k  
Rating: K  
AU: Angelic  
Time Frame: ???  
Story Arc: Stand Alone
> 
> By the gods, it’s been too long…

“What the hell, Mari?” Yoshiko griped, storming into the captain’s office.

“Language.” Mari stated, not looking up from her work.

“Whatever.” The blue-haired girl growled.

“Good to see you back to your normal self, by the way.”

“Thanks…?” Yoshiko felt herself lose some of her initial momentum. “Wait, no, that’s not the point! You want to repay me by setting me up with her? You can’t be serious!”

“Would you prefer I say ‘<It’s joke!>’?” The blonde finally looked up as she used an ancient language with intentionally incorrect grammar that she’d often repeated.

“Ughn…” Yoshiko’s shoulders slumped. “… No…” She shook her head. “No, I really wouldn’t.” Had it really reached a point that Mari was aware of the effects of that overused phrase of hers and had found a new way to annoy with it?

“So, what’s the problem, do you not like her?”

“That’s not what I said!” Yoshiko protested, waving her arms frantically. “But we’ve already met, so you wouldn’t be setting me up.”

“Oh? Are you dating already?”

“D-dating? What? No!”

“Do you not want to date her?”

“I… I…” Yoshiko could feel her face flush. “Well, yeah, sure I suppose there’s a possibility I might kinda sorta want to maybe go out with her.” She fumbled through admitting. She knew it was foolish to flatly deny it because Mari could read her like a book. “She’s amazing. A bit naïve. But beautiful. And…” She sighed. “But I’d only want to if she would be alright with someone like me.”

“I believe she might be more interested than you realize.”

“Really?” Yoshiko hated how much hope seeped into her voice.

“Let’s just say she has some… unexpected tastes.” Despite her teasing tone, Mari’s smile seemed genuine. “I’ll let you in on a few, but don’t tell her that you know. She seems to be under the impression that they’re still a secret.”

The blue-haired girl tilted her head in curiosity.

“My point is that I’m going to help you get closer to her.” The blonde explained. “How far you decide to progress will be up to the two of you. But from what I know, you both have your shares of insecurities when it comes to socializing, particularly in the friendship and romance departments. So, I intend to give advice and help where I can.”

“You’re not just doing this as a way to tease me, are you?” Yoshiko couldn’t help some lingering suspicion despite her growing anticipation.

Mari’s grin grew. “Oh, you’ll never be completely free of my teasing, Yoshiko-chan.”

“Yohane.”

“Believe it or not, I consider you to be an important friend and she now serves under me.” Mari explained. “So I want you two to be happy, be it as friends, as girlfriends, or whatever.”

“…” Yoshiko found herself unsure as to what she should say. While she couldn’t really deny that she also considered Mari a friend, putting it into words was a more difficult task than slaying hundreds of demons.  


“Also, I know you were awake when I told her that you needed more friends like her. And you heard all that other stuff as well.”

The blue-haired girl nodded her affirmation.

“I wasn’t kidding, you know.”

The two angels stared at one another for a few moments.

“T… Thank you.” Yoshiko finally managed to break the silence.

Mari smiled in response. “Oh, and since you’re already here, I don’t have to send someone else to find you and deliver the news.”

“News?”

“I’m being transferred to Reusbasium.”

“Reusbasium?” Yoshiko searched her knowledge of angelic territory but drew a blank.

“A town out near the border.” Mari explained. “It’s small, quaint, lovely and quite peaceful.”

Peaceful? Yoshiko furrowed her brow. That certainly wouldn’t describe anywhere near the border with demon territory, so that left fey. “So why the heck are you, of all people, being transferred there?”

“Recent reports have been coming in suggesting the demons are attempting to sway the fey to their side. As you know, this absolutely cannot happen.”

“Of course.”

“As such, I am being sent to monitor the situation, and if necessary, propose a counteroffer to have them join us. Or remain neutral, that would be an acceptable outcome as well. And the one I would personally prefer; they don’t need to be dragged into our eternal war.”

“It probably wouldn’t be eternal for much longer after they chose a side.” Yoshiko mused aloud.

“Exactly. And at a terrible cost to them. I’d rather they continue to stay out of it, for their own sake.”

“But again, why you?”

“There is concern that should the demons fail in negotiations, they may quietly annex the sparsely populated borderlands and use it as a staging point for an invasion.”

“And you could decimate any reasonable reconnaissance force before they become too powerful?”

“Something like that.”

“Hrm…” Yoshiko thought for a moment. While the explanation provided made sense at face value, she was all but certain there were details being left out. Then again, that was par for the course when it came to the likes of the eccentric captain. Thus, instead of prying for said details, she asked, “So why tell me all of this?”

“Because I’m not going alone.”

“Of course not. But I don’t serve under your command…”

“But Rikocchi does.”

Yohsiko blinked.

“I have asked her to join the select few I will be bringing with me to Reusbasium. And she agreed.” Mari set her elbows on her desk and folded her hands under her chin. “I did not order her, but I believe she likes the idea of a peacekeeping assignment as opposed to city defense.”

“Yeah… That probably would suit her better…” Yoshiko agreed. “But if there is concern of an invasion, how would that be any different than here?”

“Because our intent would be to dissuade such tactics in the first place.”

“I suppose…”

“Anyway, I obviously cannot order you to do anything, but if you wish to continue getting closer to Ricocchi…”

“… I’ll… go pack my things…”

“Good to hear.” Mari smiled. “Would you like to tell her yourself, or should I?”

“I’ll tell her myself, thanks.”

“<Fantastic.>”

Then, without another word, Yoshiko turned on her heel and made her departure.

“Yocchan?” A voice said from the hall.

“R-Riri?!” Yoshiko spun toward the redhead behind her.

Holy hell, that dress was adorable. It was just a simple white dress, standard angelic fare, with pink flowers as accents, but it suited the healer far better than any armor in the realm. And Yoshiko couldn’t take her eyes off her. 

“I…” Yoshiko’s voice cracked, forcing her to pause and clear her throat. Geez, was this going to happen every time they met? “I was just looking for you.”

“Well, you found me.” Riko smiled. “And I was actually looking for you as well.”

Riri was looking for me? Why does that make me so happy? Yoshiko found herself wondering. Well, I know why it makes me happy, but why to such an extent? However, when the redhead’s smile turned wistful, she became worried instead.

“I’m sorry, Yocchan.” Riko’s gaze swung downward. “I know we just met and I made a promise to help you, but…”

“You’re being transferred again.” Yoshiko finished when the other girl trailed off.

“I volunteered.”

“I know.”

Riko looked up. “You do?”

“Mari just told me. But…”

“Would you come with us?” Riko suddenly asked. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Yoshiko laughed. “I was just going to say that yes, I will be joining you in Reusbasium.”

“That’s wonderful.” Riko’s natural smile returned. “I can introduce you to my friends.”

“In Reusbasium?”

Riko shook her head. “No, across the border.”

“You have friends among the fey?”

“Uh huh.” Riko nodded. “And I haven’t seen them in ages. In fact, I accepted the transfer here because it got me that much closer, but now I’ll be stationed right there on the border.”

“Hrm…”

“You don’t like fey?”

“No, that’s not it.” Yoshiko shook her head. “I guess I always thought they weren’t that fond of us, something about angels being too uppity or whatever. I mean, they don’t hate us; they aren’t our enemies like the demons.” Even though… She wondered if she should finish that thought.

“I think you’ll find them more accepting than you seem to believe.”

“Maybe…”

“Besides, you’re not exactly the stereotypical uppity angel.”

That was certainly true, so Yoshiko bobbed her head back and forth in amused agreement.  


“So…” Riko furrowed her brow as a thought occurred to her. “If you weren’t planning on spending time in fey territory, what were you planning to do in Reusbasium?”

Yoshiko shrugged. “Besides hang out with you and be on the lookout for demons to fight?”

Riko laughed lightly. “Yes, besides that.”

“I’ve been fine with just Phobetor up until now, so…”

“You should visit Campi, on the other side of the border.”

“Maybe…”

“It’s where I will be meeting my friends.”

“Hrm…”

“They have an amazing hot spring.”

Yoshiko raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t think I won’t drag you there.”

“Are you saying I need a bath?”

“No, that’s…” The other girl’s laugher cut her off.

“I’m sorry, I’ll come with you to Campi.” Yoshiko said, still chuckling “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a hot spring. Think they’d allow Phobetor in?”

“I thought cats hated water?”

“He’s about as normal a cat as I am a normal angel. I think he’d love it.”

“So,” a voice suddenly said from nearby “are you going to stand here flirting all day or are you going to get ready for travel?”

“F-flirting…?” Yoshiko sputtered, spinning to spy Mari standing in the open doorway of her office, wearing a sly grin.

“I’ve secured a transport for the two of you and they’ll be ready to go by noon.”

“We’re not going with you?” Riko asked, her cheeks only starting to lose the redness that had blossomed a moment ago.

“Well, you can, Rikocchi.” The blonde pointed out. “But that would leave…”

“I see.” The redhead nodded. “Understood.”

“I can be ready by then.” The blue-haired girl offered.

“Good, then you’ll be meeting them at the gate at that time.”

“Do you need any help packing, Yocchan?” Riko turned her attention to the other girl in the hall.

“I’ll be good, thanks.” Yoshiko replied. “There isn’t much.”

“So, see you at the gate at noon?”

“Alright, see you then.”

Just before departing, Yoshiko was able to steal one last glance at Riko’s smile. On her way to her soon-to-be-former home, she found herself thinking about the redhead. She couldn’t help recalling that Riko hadn’t denied the possibility that they had been flirting, even if Mari had only been teasing. And she had just chosen to forgo traveling with the rest of the task force in favor of going with Yoshiko. Perhaps… maybe… just maybe, Mari was on to something with her offer. And maybe, just maybe, Yoshiko might think about taking her up on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2019 is finally over! 2020 has begun and with it… not much has really changed… at least not as far as lack of work/life balance and stress and whatever. Sick time allotments have been reset and suddenly everyone has come down with something, but for some reason, only on days lending to long weekends… And I could rant for hours - and have with family - about the other stuff. Honestly, SIF and AL have been my main sources of sanity over the last few months as I lacked the creative energy to progress much in my writing.
> 
> But, now I’ve finally posted something in 2020. And that makes me incredibly happy. ♡ ＼(≧▽≦)／ ♡ Even if this chapter is mainly setup for more stuff, and I had a hard time figuring out how to wrap it up after getting my main points across and thus delayed it about a week longer than necessary, but… it’s posted, and I can prove to both my readers and myself that I haven’t abandoned my fics completely, or at least this one…
> 
> I’m not quite sure if I want to write about the trip to Reusbasium as I have no idea about what might occur to make such a scene worth writing. This isn’t to say, of course, that I won’t someday come back and write it - one of the joys of writing out of order and being up front with readers about it - but for now I may just move on to the next idea I have for this story.
> 
> That said, please bear with me going forward with this project. I am very much doing the bulk of my worldbuilding on the fly. With HtHaN and HL, I can always fall back on a core world and host of characters that was already developed and I can safely assume that the majority of my readers are familiar with it. I cannot do the same with either HL(AU) or HtHaM, so forgive me if I struggle with exposition and/or need to delay a scene or two while I work out certain details and/or need to make heavy retcons because something just isn’t working for whatever reason.
> 
> Perhaps, depending on how big this project becomes, I may create some reference material, be it character profiles or maps or spell lists or whatever. I’ve already bounced the idea off two friends about making D&D styled character sheets for the primary cast of HL (AU) and both have agreed to help if I decide to do so. I’d probably also do the same for HtHaM if it came to that.
> 
> Anyway, that’s probably enough rambling for this time around. But it feels good to be back writing again. Really good. And I’m looking forward to posting the next scene of whatever; 1.2k words into a new HtHaM scene and I haven’t even gotten to the main thing I wanted out of that scene, so… yeah… no idea how long that’s going to take. But as always, I’ll follow where my µ’s muse leads.


End file.
